Title: How hexagon-building collectives solve architectural problems
Abstract: The hexagonal cells built by bees and wasps are an example of adaptive architecture; hexagons minimize material use, while maximizing storage space and structural stability. Hexagonal comb evolved independently in the bees and wasps, but in some species of both groups, the hexagonal cells are size dimorphic - small worker cells and large reproductive cells - which forces the builders to join differently-sized hexagons together. This inherent tiling problem creates a unique opportunity to investigate how similar architectural challenges are solved across independent evolutionary origins. Here we will explore how different species solve this problem, and how building techniques are shared (or not) across these collectives.Â